
A Klamath Falls man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a harrowing series of events that left two women kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Negasi Zuberi, aged 31, received his sentence for crimes that transpired predominantly in Oregon but extended into neighboring states. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, the conviction stems from a July 15, 2023 incident where Zuberi posed as a police officer to abduct his victim before subjecting her to a 450-mile ordeal of terror, culminating at his makeshift cell in Klamath Falls.
The prosecution laid out how the victim managed to escape Zuberi’s clutches by breaking free from the cell he had constructed in his garage. The resourceful woman retrieved a handgun from Zuberi's vehicle, ensuring her escape and subsequent assistance from a passerby who contacted law enforcement. Authorities apprehended Zuberi following a brief standoff in a Reno, Nevada, parking lot on July 16, 2023. The second victim, involved in an earlier kidnapping on May 6, 2023, observed the early construction of the cell that would be used in the subsequent crime. "There is no place in civil society for this type of terrifying violence," U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight conveyed, expressing hope that the sentence would bring the victims some peace.
This case, highlighting the swift action and collaboration between multiple law enforcement agencies across state lines, represents a concerted effort to bring a dangerous criminal to justice. Agencies involved in the investigation included the FBI's Portland and Reno Field Offices, the Klamath Falls Police Department, the Oregon State Police, and several others, with the case ultimately prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey S. Sweet, Nathan J. Lichvarcik, and Marco A. Boccato. Zuberi was found guilty on October 18, 2024, of all charges including kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms.